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St. Louis Park Summertime Perspectives (and the “Bare Ass Pool” Story)

Carlos Figueroa and Mike Hammer talk on Park Bench Perspectives about May leading into summer in St. Louis Park, recalling elementary track meets (relays, sack races), a tougher era of safety (asphalt playgrounds, no bike helmets, lawn jarts), and the start of summer baseball with Little League drafts, uniforms, opening day, and a memorable visit from a Japanese Little League team whose disciplined play and submarine pitching were intimidating. They reminisce about the last day of school paper-throwing chaos, summer park programs with the “green box” of games (four square, capture the flag, Knox hockey), neighborhood mischief, Cub Scout paper drives and liability fears, exploring marshland, and local traffic changes advocated by “Disco Dave Hammer.” They also cover the rec center pool, beaches and cabins, teen driving and partying stories, and invite listeners to share St. Louis Park trivia—jokingly titling the episode “Bare Ass Pool” after discussion of nude swim classes in earlier decades.

00:00 May Bench Banter
01:07 School Track Meet Memories
02:13 Dangerous Games and No Helmets
04:13 Little League Draft Days
05:32 Japanese Team Showdown
08:05 Last Day School Chaos
10:53 Summer Parks and Green Box
12:01 First Kisses and Window Breaking
14:44 Neighborhood Games and Lawsuits
16:49 Cub Scouts Paper Drive Hustle
19:16 Cub Scouts and Summers
19:28 Neighborhood Exploring Tales
20:19 Phone Book Anderson Joke
20:37 Hampshire Road Changes
22:02 Snowballs and Speeders
22:53 Highway Frogger Food Runs
23:43 Mark Globus Memories
25:09 Rec Center Pool Days
28:50 Beaches Falls and Cabins
30:01 Boy Scout Camp Mischief
31:06 Road Trips and Teen Years
33:24 Driving Drinking Concert Chaos
35:58 Podcast Wrap and Call In
37:44 Bare Ass Pool Trivia
39:10 Bench Season Goodbye

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